History of Tanwars

Tomara (also called Tomar, Tanwar and Tuar) is a Hindu clan, the members of which ruled parts of North India at different times. The Tomars claim descent from the Puruvanshi lineage of Indraprashtha of Mahabharata times. People belonging to the Tomar clan are found among the Rajputs and the Gurjars of northern India.

According to historic genelogies in puranas, the Tomars are the descendants of the Pandava prince Arjuna, through his great grandson Emperor Janamejaya, son of Emperor Parikshit. Prince Dhritrashtra, blind by birth and the elder son of Kuru scion Vichitraveer abdicated the throne in favor of his younger brother Pandu whose sons were called Pandavs. King Pandu later abdicated the throne back to his elder brother due to his ill health. Their sons were involved in a great battle and finally Yudhishthira became the king after defeating Duyodhana. King Yudhishtra founded the city of Indraprastha in the Kuru kingdom and later abdicated in favour of Parikshit, the grandson of his brother Arjuna. Capital city after Mahabharata war remained Hastinapur which was later flooded and the capital of the Pandava kingdom was moved eastwards in times of King Nishchakra. Indraprastha remained one of the major cities of Kuru-Panchala Empire for many centuries. Kuru Kingdom was one of the 16 Maha Janapads (or great states) under the Magadh Empire, around 300 BC. King Kshemaka, 28th in descent from Yudhisthira was last ruler to have absolute power in the Kuru kingdom, he was overthrown by his ministers and his sons relocated near Godavari River in south India. His grandson Uttungabhuja established a small kingdom near Godavari and his descendants later re-established Indraprastha a few centuries later, under Anangpal Tomar I in the eighth century AD.

The Tomara dynasty of Delhi lasted til Anangpal Tomar-II. Part of his legacy was the construction of Lal Kot, a fortified wall around Delhi, likely in reaction to the raids of Mahmud of Ghazni. This is one of the oldest defence structures in Delhi. Anangpal Tomar II appointed his grandson (daughter's son, and son of King of Ajmer), Prithviraj Chauhan, as the heir apparent. Some historians believe that Prithvaraj was merely a caretaker king as long as his grandfather was alive. Prithviraj was never crowned in Delhi, hence adding weight to the view that the Chauhan ruler usurped the throne from his maternal grandfather.. Anangpal Tomar II had 23 brothers and they each had territory of their own.